Seven was a little surprised when Mae was the one scooting closer, and then she wiggled under Seven's arm. They wrapped the arm around her and held her gently, wary of her battle-wounds from earlier. It was awkward for Seven, but they sat there, holding Mae gently as long as she needed to be held, but it wasn't long before the soft sound of snoring broke through the settling silence.

They smiled, looking down at her and pulling her closer, readjusting so they themselves could stretch out better. When Mae awoke, Seven would be the one knocked out, holding Mae like a child holds a teddy bear, a light smirk still on their lips.

It was early when Mae woke up. She hurt everywhere, and the short walk to use the bathroom felt like she was being murdered. She took a photo of her back which was a mess of bandages and bruises, and sent it to her boss with a request to stay home. The picture must have helped because the response was quick and decisive. Mae was relieved. She hadn’t even mentioned her face, which had a busted lip and other small bruising. All her efforts to get Seven to take care of themselves and she was the one who looked like hell.

Returning to the living room, Mae sleepily grabbed Seven by the arm and tugged. ”C’mon. We’re playing hookie today. You’re a good pillow but we have a bed for a reason.” She hadn’t meant to say it that way, but didn’t feel the need to correct it. When Seven followed she returned to her place in their arms, flinching once or twice as she tried to get comfortable.

Seven was knocked out; they'd had a harder day than they'd realized and it had taken a lot out of them. Maybe not so much physically, but it had wreaked havoc on their mind and emotions. They were so sound asleep that they didn't stir when Mae got up. When she came back they were sprawled across the couch. When there was a tug at their arm icy blue eyes opened to stare groggily up at Mae. "Huh?....Oh.... yeah. Sure sounds good," they yawned before sitting up.

They didn't comment on Mae's wording, either being too tired or just not in the mood for jokes at the moment. "How ya feel?" they asked as they crawled into bed, with Mae snuggling right back up against Seven. They wrapped their long toned arms around their roommate and held her close yet gently. Looking down, they felt more little twinges in their stomach, and their lips tugged into a smile as they leaned down and nuzzled her.

Mae felt like she was dreaming. The arm around her was strong and secure, and even if she hurt, she felt safe. She felt Seven nuzzle her, and her body lost the tension it was holding onto. This felt nice. She didn’t remember feeling this comfortable with someone before.

A thought bothered her, however, and she frowned slightly at the memory. Gripping Seven’s shirt a little tightly, she whispered in a stern but quiet voice. ”Even if we argue, please don’t even sleep on the floor like that again. It... it hurt to see you like that. You matter to me.”

Was she falling too fast? Making demands too early? Maybe, but Mae didn’t regret speaking up. They could silence the rest of the world, but for each other, there needed to always be the opportunity to speak.

Mae relaxed as Seven nuzzled her, and they settled into their sleep, holding onto Mae with a firm yet careful grasp. They just lay like that, slowly drifting off to sleep themselves, but that was interrupted when they felt a tight grip on their shirt, that caused their eyes to fly open, and look down at Mae with confusion. And then they spoke.

"I rolled off the couch in my sleep and...I just stayed on the floor. I felt like that's what I deserved," they said plainly, with a shrug. "I...I'd hurt you. I realized I...I don't like to see you hurt. And then seeing you come back beaten up...that made me so mad..." They sighed, closing their eyes. "When someone else hurts you, I can just go beat 'em up. But...what do I do when it's my fault?" They lowered their head, eyes still closed. They didn't make eye contact; this situation was just weird. They didn't know how to handle it, and they didn't like being out of their element and not being in control.

"You...you matter to me too, Maeple Leaf."

Mae sighed, settling back down to sleep. ”I think we need to just stop hurting each other then. I want to keep you around.

Mae slept most of that morning. She didn’t remember much, just feeling secure having someone there. Hunger eventually won over, and she groggily tried to move, regretting every moment of it. Her back hurt in a million different ways. Calling out of work had been a good choice, but she still felt awful. Her face was sore as well, the split lip tender and hurting when she tried to speak.

”I need to get up and make us food.....” she said. She didn’t lift her head from Seven’s shoulder, where she was tucked in.

Mae wanted to keep Seven around. Not for their skillset, nor for anything they could necessarily offer. She just...wanted them, and that confused Seven just a little bit. But at the same time, they now knew they felt the same way. They drifted to sleep, these thoughts weighing on their mind, but put at ease by the feeling of Mae in their arms. It was weird, sleeping like this, but it was nice.

"I need to get up and make us some food,"

Seven groaned, grip loosening just slightly to allow Mae to pry herself free if needed but they grumbled and groaned. "Sure we can't just starve?" They rolled over, to allow Mae to escape, but they were still asleep, blonde hair strewn all around their head.

The idea of leaving the bed was horrible, but Mae finally forced herself free and weakly went to the kitchen. In the end, she couldn’t muster the willpower to cook, so she took a moment and ordered pizza. Starving hadn’t felt like the best plan, but pizza seemed a close second in terms of actual effort. Once the call was placed she returned to the room, feeling like she had run a marathon.

”I ordered food. When the door rings, it’s your turn to get it.” she curled up like a cat, feeling dizzy. She wondered if she was getting sick on top of everything, or this had just been too much for her body. She wanted to stay in bed the rest of the day.

Wait...Seven sat up, their head snapping to look over at Mae. "You ordered food?" They asked, concerned. That was a page from Seven's playbook, Mae wouldn't do that. And now they wanted to go beat up that prick all over again. But they didn't. They scooted closer to Mae, putting a hand gently on her uninjured cheek.

"Do you want me to reapply first aid? Ice for the lip?" They asked.

When there was a knock on the door, Seven stood up, not even throwing on shorts; just answered the door in the oversized shirt they slept in, paid the delivery girl, and set the pizza on the table.

Leaning down, they gently ran a hand through Mae's hair. "Pizza's here. You want me to bring you some?"

Mae could sense the concern, which made her feel a little hopeful inside. Seven really did care? She would have felt happier if she didn’t feel like crap. She shook her head at the offer for first aid, content with just snuggling. ”I’ll be fine. Just sore. Bruised the heck outta my back and I just don’t want to do things...”

When Seven left and came back Mae had enough of her old self to shake her head, ”I don’t want to cuddle in a bed of crumbs tonight... she hobbled out to the living room and gingerly took her spot on the couch. She wasn’t sure when Seven managed to get plates but it was a relief. She used one to grab herself food and ate a bit sloppily. She was not dainty with food when she felt like this.

”Sorry I’m such a baby about this. You get busted up all the time and you’re fine. I feel like a wimp.”

It was hard to chew with a fat lip, honestly. That probably contributed to her lack of coordination.

"Sometimes it's like that," they said with a nod. Seven had learned to just to roll with it, but that was because to them, coming home injured was a common occurrence. "That...doesn't sound pleasant, no," they said with a small smirk and a shake of their head.

They were prepared to escort, or hell, even carry, Mae to the couch, but she had it covered. So, they just watched, making sure she was okay before they went to the kitchen and got to work. When they came back, they had two plates, which they set on the coffee table and then went back for drinks. Then, they sat in their usual position on the couch, watching as Mae somewhat struggled to eat.

"I'm fine because I come home like that all the damn time," they said, voice somewhat firm. "You're not a wimp, I'm just a fist-magnet. Though...if it helps, eating with a busted lip never gets easier, trust me." They gave a nod as they started into their own dinner, settling into the silence, but occasionally stealing a glance over at Mae.

Mae managed two pieces of pizza before feeling full enough to stop and abandon the comical attempts at eating. She was grateful for the drink, and let her eyes shut lazily as she leaned back into the couch. It hurt, but not as much as it could have.

”Generally I would have been better at avoiding actually getting hit, but it’s hard to do much once someone gets a hold on your hair.” She rubbed the back of her head at the memory. All things considered, she was actually relieved she had only hurt her back on the way down. Had she cracked her skull or an arm she could have landed in the hospital instead of just this homemade infirmary they seemed to keep.

Mae smirked slightly to herself, eyes still shut. ”You know, it feels nice when you touch my hair. Is that stupid? It was really...sweet.” She turned so she was facing Seven again and opened her eyes halfway. She probably looked catlike again curled against the back of the couch. ”Are we crazy here? Just, this living situation?”

"I can see it, you better at dodging. I'm better at giving--and taking--a hit," they said with a smirk, though the idea of someone having Mae by the hair made them visibly bristle for a moment. They were glad it wasn't worse, because it definitely could have been something their homemade infirmary couldn't handle.

"I mean...I don't normally do sweet but I wanted to try and help you feel better," they said, looking at Mae even though her eyes had closed. "Honestly...I...I've been out of my element ever since our little uh...incident yesterday," they admitted. They thought a moment as Mae looked at them with half-closed eyes and asked another question.

"I'm not a good judge of what's crazy," they said with a chuckle, reaching out and running a hand through her hair again. "Crazy or not...I've grown to like it..."

Mae liked it when Seven smiled. A real smile, not just the smirk that more often happened. Some day she would find a way to see it all the time. In her mind it was a challenge tucked away for another day. She thought about the apartment, the space they were sharing, the literal bubble they spent most of their time in. Maybe it had just been unavoidable to feel things.

Seven reached out and the contact made Mae’s eyes shut, and she sighed slightly with contentment. She chuckled to herself at the comment, ”I... I just, I worry. The last person I fell for cheated on me... I still feel like I just have been a screw up for someone to decide to look elsewhere without breaking up with me first. I’ve had some dates but... I don’t just want a date here. I like having you around.”

She didn’t want to scare either of them. But she also had a lot on her mind lately. That was what caused the explosion anyway.

”I’ve been worrying and wondering and trying to work it out on my own, and we saw how well that worked. I just don’t know how to deal with people. Normally I just, hide in my bubble and let the world do its own thing.”

"You don't have to worry about that with me," they comforted, still letting their fingers run through Mae's hair, fingers occasionally brushing skin. "I don't think I've ever been on a date...just ****ing until we get tired of each other," they admitted, eyes dropping to look at the floor. "I don't know **** about relationships, and I'm completely out of my comfort zone here. Honestly, I don't like that...I like being in control of a situation, and here, I'm not. But...I like being around."

After Mae spoke, they turned to look at her again, hand still lightly toying with Mae's hair. "I do the same thing, except I hide behind my headphones, in a random soundwave, or...under you." They sighed, this feelings talk was making them feel weird. Their face was hot, their heart was pounding, and there was this rush of adrenaline paired with that twinge that was more often pulling at their stomach. Taking a breath, Seven leaned in, carefully wrapping their arms around Mae and placing their lips against their forehead, letting them linger for a moment before pulling away.